Former Grand Mufti of Lebanon Mohammed Rashid Qabbani Issues Fatwa: It Is an Islamic Duty to Wage Jihad to Liberate Palestine from the "Foreign Jewish Occupiers," All Peace Agreements with Them Null and Void Former Grand Mufti of Lebanon Mohammed Rashid Qabbani issued a fatwa according to which Palestinians and all Arabs and Muslims have a duty to wage Jihad "to liberate Palestine from the occupation of the Jews of the Balfour Declaration." Sheikh Qabbani compared the liberation of Palestine today to the Jihad waged by the Prophet Muhammad, by Omar ibn Al-Khattab, and by Saladin, and declared that Islam forbids the Palestinians and all Arab and Muslim countries "to surrender, to reconcile, to make peace treaties, or to concede a single inch of Arab Palestinian land to the foreign Jewish occupiers." Sheikh Qabbani's address aired on Al-Mayadeen TV on May 16.

Hamas Leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar: We Are Coordinating with Hizbullah, Iran on an Almost Daily BasisHamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar said, in an interview with the Lebanese Al-Mayadeen TV channel, that with the help of Iran, Hamas has managed to significantly develop its capabilities. Sinwar added that Iran has provided Hamas’s Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades and other Gaza factions "a lot of money, equipment, and expertise." He further said that his organization had "excellent" relations with Hizbullah and that there is coordination on an "almost daily" basis between the two organizations, and described Hamas’s relations with Iran, the IRGC, and Qasem Solimani as "strong and warm." The interview aired on May 21.

Clark Clifford (1906–1998)

(68 of 70) JNS is proud to partner with the Embassy of Israel in Washington, D.C., to celebrate 70 of the greatest American contributors to the U.S.-Israel relationship in the 70 days leading up to the State of Israel’s 70th anniversary.

(May 12, 2018 / Embassy of Israel in Washington, D.C.) Clark Clifford was tall, dapper, brilliant and witty. He was famous for combining Midwestern humility with courtly sophistication, personal qualities that endeared him to the four U.S. presidents whom he served.

But his defining characteristic and the reason why four presidents came to rely upon him was his judgment. At a fateful juncture, Clifford’s judgment would prove critical to the State of Israel.

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Trained as a lawyer, Clifford had already built up a thriving legal practice in St. Louis when the World War II broke out. Well into his 30s, married and a father, he volunteered for the Navy. His legal training brought him to Washington, serving in the Truman White House first as an assistant White House counsel, and then in 1946 as White House counsel.

In that role, Clifford drafted key legislation, including the law authorizing creation of the CIA. He later became John Kennedy’s personal lawyer and served as Secretary of Defense under President Lyndon Johnson.

In the days leading up to his recognition of Israel, Truman relied heavily on Clifford’s advice to support a homeland for the Jewish people. At the time, Arabists in the State Department tried stridently to prevent U.S. recognition of the Jewish state. Ignoring the president’s instructions to maintain a favorable position to the partition of Palestine at the United Nations, the State Department directed U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Warren Austin to instead support a U.N. trusteeship of Palestine.

Truman understood that a trusteeship would be used to thwart the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine. It was largely Clark Clifford’s sustained counsel that led America to ultimately vote in favor of the partition plan.

Early in May 1948, Truman had promised Zionist leader Chaim Weizmann, who would become the first president of the Jewish state, that he would recognize Israel when it declared its independence. The leading administration opponent of recognition of a Jewish state was Secretary of State General George Marshall, whom Truman greatly admired and respected. To resolve the policy dispute, Truman held a meeting on the subject, choosing Clifford, his most articulate aide, to present the case for recognition. Clifford’s arguments were so powerful and persuasive that Marshall never again spoke to him, refusing even to mention his name.

For the rest of his long career as a government official and an informal adviser to American presidents, Clifford remained a devoted friend of the Jewish state.